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Hauptverfasser: Ghosh, Indronil, Fisher, Timothy S.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.07382
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author Ghosh, Indronil
Fisher, Timothy S.
author_facet Ghosh, Indronil
Fisher, Timothy S.
contents Leading edges of hypersonic vehicles can reach temperatures greater than 2000 °C, and radii of curvature smaller than 1 cm, at which thermionic emission (also known as electron transpiration) can play a significant role in cooling the leading edge alongside other heat transfer modes such as convection and radiation. Existing theoretical analyses of thermionic cooling with space-charge effects at a leading edge are limited to one-dimensional (1D), analytical and numerical models that do not capture the influences of geometric curvature of the leading edge or temperature gradients along the leading edge. The key to understanding space-charge effects is development of the plasma sheath potential, and to that end we demonstrate a generalized methodology to calculate the sheath potential space in 1D Cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical coordinate systems. We accomplish this by extending Takamura's approach beyond the Cartesian system, and motivate sheath formation conditions for potential sheathes with and without a virtual cathode similar in nature to how Bohm originally presented his criterion of minimum Mach number for a valid 1D Cartesian sheath. By observing for what parameter inputs we satisfy the sheath formation conditions, we illustrate parameter spaces of minimum Mach number, potential derivative at the wall, and net current, for each coordinate system and for two different input work functions; we also show example potential spaces for each coordinate system. With our numerical approach, generalized to multiple coordinate systems, we enable computationally efficient and higher fidelity analysis of thermionic emission with space-charge effects for more realistic system geometries.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_07382
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle New Plasma Sheath Potential Solutions in Cylindrical and Spherical Coordinates
Ghosh, Indronil
Fisher, Timothy S.
Plasma Physics
Leading edges of hypersonic vehicles can reach temperatures greater than 2000 °C, and radii of curvature smaller than 1 cm, at which thermionic emission (also known as electron transpiration) can play a significant role in cooling the leading edge alongside other heat transfer modes such as convection and radiation. Existing theoretical analyses of thermionic cooling with space-charge effects at a leading edge are limited to one-dimensional (1D), analytical and numerical models that do not capture the influences of geometric curvature of the leading edge or temperature gradients along the leading edge. The key to understanding space-charge effects is development of the plasma sheath potential, and to that end we demonstrate a generalized methodology to calculate the sheath potential space in 1D Cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical coordinate systems. We accomplish this by extending Takamura's approach beyond the Cartesian system, and motivate sheath formation conditions for potential sheathes with and without a virtual cathode similar in nature to how Bohm originally presented his criterion of minimum Mach number for a valid 1D Cartesian sheath. By observing for what parameter inputs we satisfy the sheath formation conditions, we illustrate parameter spaces of minimum Mach number, potential derivative at the wall, and net current, for each coordinate system and for two different input work functions; we also show example potential spaces for each coordinate system. With our numerical approach, generalized to multiple coordinate systems, we enable computationally efficient and higher fidelity analysis of thermionic emission with space-charge effects for more realistic system geometries.
title New Plasma Sheath Potential Solutions in Cylindrical and Spherical Coordinates
topic Plasma Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.07382